


A Good Cause

by Angelikah



Category: The Vampire Diaries & Related Fandoms, The Vampire Diaries (TV)
Genre: ALSO BACK TO THE SMUT, AU/AH, EVEN THOUGH SHE DIDN'T CHECK THE BOX, F/M, Fluff, I PROMISE I CHECKED, It's vanilla too, Right?, SHE SAID IT WAS OKAY, also i'm sorry it's so long, but it's one chapter, idk if this can be considered a drabble, patting myself on the back so hard right now, right!, smut with actual feelings, so we can roll with it, unsubtle elephant references
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-09-01
Updated: 2015-09-01
Packaged: 2018-04-18 13:34:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,798
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4707785
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Angelikah/pseuds/Angelikah
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Caroline volunteers for Greenpeace taking donations to save the elephants, and through a combination of really terrible jokes, an accidental gym run-in, and a bribe for a good cause, Klaus finally convinces her to take a chance on him (after his admittedly prickish behavior). Also he works for a large family-owned oil company, no big deal. Or so he hopes. Look, true love conquers all, okay? Will Caroline be able to get over the elephant in the room?</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Good Cause

**Author's Note:**

  * For [missingstars89](https://archiveofourown.org/users/missingstars89/gifts).



“Hi, can I have a moment of your time to tell you about the current status of endangered elephants?”

“No,” Klaus said gruffly without looking up from his phone, pushing past the girl shoving a pamphlet in his face. He was walking to work, as usual, and he was running a bit late for a meeting.

“Habitat loss is one of the main causes of the decline in the population,” the girl continued, and this time Klaus did look up from his phone in order to tell her to fuck off, but instead felt his mouth go dry. He licked his lips, trying to tune back into what the girl was saying, a smile frozen on her face, showing that she’d seen his reaction. “Elephant calves are suffering due to the changing conditions of their habitats. If you would donate just a few dollars a month, or anything really, that would help a lot. You can even make a one-time donation.”

Klaus inwardly shook himself. “No.”

“It’s for a good cause,” she said, giving him a brilliant smile.

“No. Excuse me,” he said shortly, walking away, holding his phone pointedly in front of his face.

He heard her huff exasperatedly and then as he walked away he faintly heard her accost some other person. “Hi, can I have a moment of your time to tell you about the current status of endangered elephants?”

 

**XXX**

 

“Hi, can I have a mo-- _Oh,_ it’s you.”

Klaus looked up from his phone, trying to suppress a smile. “Yes. It’s me.”

She gave him a stiff smile. “Well, if you’ll excuse me–”

“I apologize for my behavior last time, love.”

“Don’t call me ‘love’.”

“My apologies.”

She nodded, shrugging, before turning back to the sidewalk, attempting to flag down another person, but Klaus spoke again. “Aren’t you going to finish your speech?”

She turned to glare at him, and he gave her what he hoped was a winning smile.

“I don’t know, is there a chance of you donating? If you’re going to walk away in ten minutes without donating, it’s a waste of my time.”

“We’ll see. Convince me I should save the pandas.”

“Elephants,” she corrected.

He shrugged. “Elephants, then.”

He gave her a teasing grin at her responding eyeroll and long-suffering sigh before she straightened her spine. “Well, climate change is slowly decimating the natural habitat of elephants…”

She talked for a good five minutes as he nodded along, admiring the way her hands waved around as she spoke and her growing enthusiasm. He loved the way her lips moved as she talked, the brightness of her smile, and he couldn’t help but wonder whether she’d give him the time of day if he did donate. If he gave in, would she stop talking to him?

“All right, love. Unfortunately I have to run, but I assume you’re here every Tuesday? Perhaps we can talk again? It would be rude of me to refuse without all the pertinent information, after all.”

He only saw a glimpse of her exasperated face before he turned and strode towards his office building.

 

**XXX**

 

Klaus may or may not have taken an earlier subway just to accost the pretty blonde the third Tuesday, though he’d never admit it. The look on her face when he approached was less than kind.

“So, tell me about saving the gorillas.”

“Elephants,” she said through gritted teeth, before pointedly ignoring him.

“Hey, don’t be angry, love. So I was a bit of a prick, and we had a spat, but I’m over it. Aren’t you?”

“Are you serious right now?”

“Of course,” he said, shrugging, and she huffed, turning away to engage another person.

He thought she’d finally decided to acknowledge his presence when she turned to shoot a bright smile at him, before he realized that she was directing it at the person behind him. He turned and it turned and saw a young man, only an inch or two shorter than Klaus, with a winning smile and an annoyingly more-than-friendly appreciative glance in the girl’s direction.

He felt an irrational tug of jealousy in his gut as she batted her eyelashes and smiled, managing to get the man to write down his email and pledge on the clipboard, and Klaus checked his watch, seeing that he was nearly late and walking away, though he did hear her gently turn the man, who’d introduced himself as Tyler, down on his offer for lunch.

“What’s your name?” Klaus heard the other man asked.

“Caroline.”

_Caroline_. He’d remember that.

 

**XXX**

 

The next week he was prepared. “So, shall I help you save the rhinos?”

“Elephants,” she said exasperatedly, clearly knowing he was just trying to get a rise out of her, but completely unable to stop herself from correcting him.

“Well, that’s interesting, because the Sumatran elephant shares its habitat with orangutans and Sumatran rhinos, and are a vital part of the ecosystem in the rainforest that they live in. Did you know that?”

She slowly turned to glare at him, reminding him slightly of an adorable blonde, angry tiger, and he could tell she was taking a deep breath to center herself before she responded. “Yes. Yes, I did. It’s my job to know that,” she said, turning back to the sidewalk.

“Did you know that the Sumatran elephant is the most endangered type of elephant?” he asked, catching up to her in one long stride.

She scoffed. “Yes. Again, that’s my job. Now, if you’ll excuse me--”

“Did you know that there are less than 2,800 Sumatran elephants left in the world today?”

“Did you spend last night memorizing Wikipedia, or something?”

He shrugged, moving just a bit closer to her, invading her personal space. She stiffened for only a moment before relaxing, and turned to glare at him.

“No, love. I just looked at the website for the World Wildlife Fund.”

“Why?”

“Perhaps I wanted to impress you.”

“Okay, well, unless you’re going to donate, you can take your Googling skills and ability to regurgitate facts you read elsewhere.”

“But I’m interested, love. Shouldn’t you try to convince me to donate?” he asked, pulling out the big puppy eyes, though she didn’t seem the least bit impressed.

“Honestly, I don’t think it’s worth it, since you seem to just use this as an excuse to talk to me. It’s incredibly annoying, by the way.”

“Perhaps this isn’t the best strategy, I’ll admit, but I fancy you, and I knew you wouldn’t give me the time of day.”

“You _fancy_ me? This is how you show me that? Are you going to pull my pigtails and break my crayons next?”

“As I said, it wasn’t the best strategy. Shall we start over? Hello, I’m Klaus.”

“And _I’m_ serious when I say that you should give up.”

“Serious? What an odd name.”

He could tell he’d nearly shocked a laugh out of her at the absolutely terrible joke, but she managed to cover it quickly, pasting the frown back on her face. “You could have just asked me out like a normal person the first time we talked, but now I don’t see why I should even if you did ask me.”

“Would you have said yes if I’d donated the first time? You turned down that other bloke who tried that. Tyler, wasn’t it?”

“That shouldn’t be indicative of how I treat all men,” Caroline pointed out.

“So you’re saying you would have said yes?”

“Oh my god, don’t you have places to _be_ or something?”

He made a show of checking his watch. “Right now, yes. However, I’m sure I’ll run into you next Tuesday at the usual time.”

He could have sworn he heard Caroline mutter something that sounded suspiciously like, “Why do the hot ones always have to be assholes?” as he walked away, but managed to refrain from responding.

At least she thought he was attractive. That was a step.

 

**XXX**

 

It was the next Monday when fate intervened. He had arrived at to the gym a bit late because a meeting ran over, and in Klaus’s humble opinion, fate couldn’t have picked a better time.

He could almost hear Caroline’s growl as he saw her walk in wearing tight yoga pants and a sports bra, a yoga mat slung over her shoulder.

“Shouldn’t you be off saving the whales?”

“Elephants,” she said stiffly. “As you know very well, I save elephants.”

“But I thought that me pretending not to know was our thing,” he said teasingly.

“We don’t have a _thing_. And it’s not like I spend all day on the sidewalk with a clipboard. I have hobbies.”

“You didn’t seem too interested in disclosing them, though I admit I was curious,” Klaus said.

"Well, now you know. I don't spend every hour of every day on a street corner with a clipboard.”

He resisted the urge to make a rather rude joke about whether she spent her nights on the street corners without a clipboard, deciding that it would most likely set him back any ground he’d gained (and probably leave him worse off than he’d started).

"I suppose I do."

"So, now that we've gotten to know each other a bit, can you stop harassing me every Tuesday morning?"

"I don't think we're quite done getting to know each other, love. Would you like to get some lunch with me later? Or dinner?”

"Are you seriously asking me on a date right now?"

"Yes."

"You're nuts."

"Well, that wasn't a 'no'," he said, giving her what he knew must be an infuriating grin. "How about we make a deal, love?"

"Why would I want to make a deal with you? Can’t you just leave me alone?"

"I'll donate $200 to your turtles--"

"Elephants," she corrected, her lips twitching.

"Elephants," he repeated. "If you go on a date with me."

"Seriously?"

"Come on, love, take one for the team."

She rolled her eyes. "Really? $200? Why?"

"It's for a good cause," he said cajolingly.

"You're a dick."

He just smirked, and she huffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "Fine. One date," she said dully, taking the phone he offered her and punching in her first name and number. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm late for yoga."

"See you tomorrow, Caroline," he said, admiring the way the yoga pants clung to her as she walked away.

"Stop staring at my ass," she threw over her shoulder, accompanying it with a pointed glare.

 

**XXX**

 

“So, what do you do in your spare time? Other than yoga and saving tigers.”

“Did you seriously just memorize the entire list of critically endangered species?” Caroline asked, glaring at him over her forkful of potatoes.

“Perhaps.”

She scoffed and took a sip of her iced tea, glaring at him. “Well, I go to school.”

“What are you majoring in?” he asked, hoping to every deity he could think of that he hadn’t accidentally asked out a seventeen year old doing her volunteer work for graduation.

She seemed to follow his line of thought, because she gave him a small smile. “Environmental Science. I’m graduating this spring.”

“Interesting.”

She shrugged. “Yeah. I mean, I like it, obviously. What do you do? Are you in school?”

“No, I graduated three years ago.”

She looked at him expectantly, and he shrugged. “I work for Mikaelson Inc.”

“Oh,” she said, nodding slowly. “That’s cool.”

He knew that she was probably just being polite, especially considering where her interests were, but he figured that she might not know what Mikaelson Inc. was.

“I suppose,” he said slowly.

She laughed, and he smiled back at her, still a bit stunned by the way she smiled. She probably didn’t know, then.

“What do you do for them?”

“I work in Marketing.”

“Fun.”

“It pays the bills,” he said, shrugging, not wanting to sound too enthusiastic.

She nodded slowly, shooting him a slightly calculating look, and he shot her a dimpled smile. “So, would you like dessert here? I was thinking we could walk to an ice-cream store near here. It’s family-owned. My friend Stefan runs it.”

“Okay. Sounds good.”

She shot him a small smile, and he really, _really_ hoped she didn’t Google Mikaelson Inc.

 

**XXX**

 

It had been barely an hour since he dropped her off at a subway station (she told him that her apartment address had to be earned, a challenge he decided to take up with great enthusiasm) when she texted him.

_Seriously? An oil company??_

He winced as he read it, trying to figure out how to respond without sounding like a total prick. Telling her it was his family’s company seemed like it might make it worse, but not being straightforward with her would probably be almost worse.

_It’s my family’s business. I’m just working there to gain more experience before I switch companies._

_And you’re in marketing?_ Caroline texted back immediately.

_How do you live with yourself?_

He couldn’t tell whether she was joking or not, but if she was this rigid about his job, should he really be dating her?

_I just accept the fact that I’m an evil human being. Everything is much simpler after that._

He waited anxiously for her reply, and found himself grinning at her response. _Well, at least now the $200 offer makes sense. I was pretty sure you were bluffing._

_But you went out with me anyway?_

_You were desperate. It was kind of cute,_ she said, before adding hastily in another text, _Not that stalking is cute. Don’t get any ideas._

_Wouldn’t dream of it,_ he texted back, smirking.

_I did feel a bit like a prostitute though._

_Nothing wrong with that as long as you didn’t feel pressured,_ he wrote back, reciting word-for-word what Rebekah said every time he expressed his opinion on her friend Katerina’s career of choice.

_Well, I did feel pressured_ she said. _Turned out okay, though. It was for a good cause ;)_

He was about to text back that he was sorry, because it felt like the appropriate thing to say, but she sent another text before he started typing.

_So, you free Friday? Lunchtime, maybe?_

_I could make time._

_Great! No payment necessary, obviously ;)_

They arranged a time and he smiled to himself as he set his phone on the side table. Life was looking up.

 

**XXX**

 

“I know we planned on going out, but I’m exhausted. Finals are killing me. Do you want to get take-out and watch a movie?” Caroline asked, leaning against the doorway to his kitchen, giving him a small smile.

“That’s fine, love. What do you want?”

“Chinese okay?”

“Sounds wonderful. There are menus in the drawer over there.”

Her smile brightened even more, and he couldn’t help but smile back. The last five months of his life had been some of the best, and he couldn’t help but feel thankful that she was taking a chance on him.

He couldn’t help but feel a bit nervous, though. He’d already fallen for her, to be honest, but he wanted to make sure she was as serious about him as he was about her.

Klaus watched her flip through the menus in the drawer before selecting one, and after checking what she wanted, he called and ordered for delivery while she flipped through her planner, something he’d learned was a habit of hers when she felt stressed about school.

Once he hung up, he walked towards her, laying his palms on her hips and pulling her against him, resting his forehead against hers. “You’ll be fine,” he said quietly.

She giggled, capturing his lips with hers for just a few moments before pulling back, her arms slung around his shoulders. “I know. It’s just stressful.”

“Well, I don’t mean to stress you out more–”

“That’s always a good start to a conversation,” she said, frowning and starting to pull away, but he held her to him, kissing her again reassuringly.

“I just want to make sure that you want to stay after graduation. I know you were thinking of going back to Virginia, and–”

“I’m staying,” Caroline said firmly. “I’ve been looking at apartments with six-month leases, and I met with the career counselor at school last week.”

He couldn’t suppress the smile overtaking his face, and she looked happy at his reaction, all the tension releasing from her body. “I’m glad to hear that, love.”

“Did you think I’d leave?” she asked, sounding genuinely curious, her head tilting to the side.

“I wasn’t sure,” he admitted. “I’ve always been serious about you, love. I just never knew if you truly felt the same way.”

Klaus was almost never vulnerable with anyone, and she seemed to understand the degree of trust he was giving her, because she didn’t smile or tease him, simply cupping his cheeks in her palms and keeping eye contact with him as she spoke. “I’m not going anywhere. You make me happy, Klaus.”

He didn’t have a chance to reply before she was kissing him, her lips soft against his, and she looped her arms around his neck as his fingers pressed against her waist, pulling her flush against him. He could feel every inch of her curves against his body as he slid his hands under her thighs, pulling her to sit on the counter, standing between her spread legs.

She hooked her ankles around his waist, pressing him to her, her fingers tangling in his hair, and he smiled into their kiss. His palm moved to cup her cheek while the other rested on her hip, making light circles against the soft skin peeking out between the hem of her blouse and the top of her shorts with his thumb. He was hard against her covered core, and she tipped her head back against the cabinet as he bent to kiss her neck. He let his hand trail from her cheek down her side, his fingertips teasing her skin before his hand settled on her waist, pulling her hips closer to him so that he could grind the bulge in his jeans against her center, making them both groan softly.

He kissed up her jaw before taking her bottom lip between his teeth, nibbling on it lightly and then fusing their lips together again, pushing his tongue into her mouth. She shivered as he squeezed her hips, his tongue stroking behind her teeth. He hooked a finger around the waistband of her shorts, his fingernail scratching pleasurably against her skin, making her whimper softly in pleasure, her hips moving to rock against his. Klaus undid the button, pulling back to rest his forehead against hers, his eyes connecting with hers in silent question as he undid the zipper.

“Klaus, please.”

“Please what?” he asked, smirking at her glare.

He lifted her hips to ease her shorts down her legs, her thong following, and she pulled his henley over his head as she kicked off her shorts completely before pulling her blouse over her head as well. He reached around to unfasten her bra as she trailed her hands down his chest, her fingernails making light scratches across his skin, and he licked his lips as he pulled the straps of her bra down her arms, letting it fall away. His eyes raked over the swell of her breasts, dark with lust and need, and he bent to capture a nipple in his mouth.

She let her head fall back against the cabinet and moaned, one hand bracing herself against the counter, the other tangled in his hair to keep his mouth pressed to her as he pleasured her with his tongue and teeth, enjoying the soft pants and moans he coaxed from her lips.

She moved slightly to sit on the very edge of the counter surface, her legs spread wide as she pulled his face up to capture his lips with hers, moaning into the kiss as her hands moved down to unbuckle his belt and push his jeans and boxers away, freeing his erection.

He groaned loudly against her mouth as she wrapped her hand around him, stroking him slowly, her thumb flicking over the head of his cock, making him buck into her hand.

She mumbled his name as she moved to position him at her entrance, teasing her clit with the tip of him, making them both gasp before he pushed inside of her.

Her pussy clenched around him, and he rested his forehead against her shoulder as he began to move inside of her. “You’re so wet for me, Caroline. So hot and tight and perfect,” he mumbled into her ear, the hot breath on her skin making her shiver in his arms.

“Faster, Klaus, please,” she gasped out, moaning when he began to thrust his hips at a faster pace, paying attention to her reactions, making sure his cock hit just the right place inside of her to make her back arch as she panted out his name, telling him how good he felt inside of her, and his thrusts became more frenzied as they both started to approach their peak.

Her fingernails dug into his shoulders as she wrapped her legs around him more firmly, trying to pull him as deep as possible inside her.

“God, Klaus, please, I’m so close.”

“You feel so good around me, Caroline. I love the way you moan my name while I fuck you, the way your breasts bounce as my cock fills you. You’re so beautiful when you writhe against me, your body desperate for release. Can you come for me, Caroline? I want you to come around my cock.”

She moaned and nodded, her fingernails raking down his back as she rolled her hips against him, and he felt her body taut and rigid against his, her breathing ragged, and he bit down lightly on her shoulder as she tumbled over the edge, her body shaking against him as she came.

He fucked her through her orgasm, groaning her name as she writhed against him, and he spilled inside of her, his forehead dropping against her shoulder as his hips moved against her, the slap of skin against skin filling the room.

They were both breathing shallowly when she slumped against him as he braced his hands against the counter, and he nuzzled her neck before cupping her ass and lifting her, her legs still wrapped around his waist. She slung her arms around his neck as he carried her, kissing him passionately before he dropped her on the bed and crawled on top of her, slanting his lips against hers before groaning as the doorbell rang.

“Seriously?” she mumbled, and he rolled off of her and rushed to the kitchen, pulling on his jeans and not bothering with the shirt, before opening the door for the delivery boy, grabbing his wallet from the key dish and tipping him before setting the food on the counter.

“Just put it in the fridge,” Caroline said, walking into the kitchen in one of his shirts, making his throat go dry. “We’ll eat later.”

“I want to eat now,” he said his eyes raking over her legs when she turned around, and he could feel himself hardening again when his eyes locked on the cheeks of her ass peeking out from under the hem of his shirt as she moved, his cum visible on her inner thighs.

“Seriously?” she asked again.

“Not food,” he said, his voice low, and she blushed bright red, though she didn’t complain as he picked her up again, kissing her roughly as he carried her to the bed and knelt at the end of it, kissing her inner thighs before pushing her legs gently apart and swirling his tongue around her clit.

“Klaus…”

He gave her a smug smirk before leaning down again to give her pussy a long, flat lick, moaning at the taste of her mixed with his mark on her slick skin, enjoying the way she writhed beneath him, her hips attempting to escape his palms holding her down to roll against his lips.

Her fingers tangled in his hair as she held his face against her pussy, murmuring his name over and over, her voice needy and desperate, and it wasn’t long before she was tipping over the edge again.

He kissed her inner thigh, biting down gently before moving back to her lips, thrusting his tongue into her mouth, letting her taste herself. Her eyes were dark and glassy when he pulled away, her breathing uneven, and she palmed him through his jeans.

“Hard for me again already?” she asked, and he nodded, groaning as she squeezed him lightly, his cock throbbing almost painfully against the zipper of his jeans.

“I want you inside me again,” she said, her hands already working to free his erection from the confines of his clothing, moaning when he pushed inside her again.

He savored the way she clenched around him, and smirked as she swore when he pulled her closer, spreading her legs farther so that he could fuck her harder and deeper. “I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of this,” she gasped out, her eyes closed tight as she raked her fingernails down his back, rolling her hips against him.

God, he hoped not, because he didn’t think he’d ever get enough of her.

 

**XXX**

 

“So, how’s the job hunt going?” Caroline asked, and he could feel something off in her voice.

He inwardly winced, deciding that playing dumb would only make it worse, and straightening his spine to turn to her.

“You saw the letter, then.”

“Well, you didn’t exactly hide it,” she said, and he knew it was true.

“I don’t have any secrets to keep from you.”

“That’s funny, since you didn’t tell me you’d received an offer from a company not responsible for ruining the world with oil drilling, and then decided not to take it.”

“I’m overqualified for the position, Caroline,” he said, trying to keep his voice even. “I would earn a significantly lower salary. It was an easy decision to make.”

“Even though you knew how I would feel about it? And don’t say you didn’t know, because I know you would have told me otherwise.”

He was itching to lash out and tell her that it was none of her business, but knew that wouldn’t help the situation, and though it was true, he knew that he wanted it to be her business eventually, because he wanted her to be in his life for as long as possible.

Preferably forever.

“I want to wait until another offer comes along. A better one.”

“And how do you know you’ll get a better offer, Klaus? I’m not saying you’re not capable, but this is your family’s company, so it’s just a better deal for you.”

“Look, Caroline, I understand where you’re coming from, because I know that this matters a lot to you, but if it wasn’t me working there, it would be someone else, and at least this way I have some control over the way the company functions ethics-wise.”

“Do you not care that it’s important to me, Klaus?” Caroline asked, clearly frustrated. “This is one of the only things that I’m really passionate about, and I feel like you just don’t care.”

“Of course I care, Caroline. I just don’t think that changing jobs is a viable option right now.”

“Well, when will it be? Are you just going to sit there saying ‘not yet’ for the rest of our lives?”

“I don’t know, Caroline. I just don’t see why it’s so upsetting to you that I work for a company that would be worse off ethics-wise if I wasn’t there.”

“Because you’re contributing to it at all. I just don’t know how to feel, okay?” she said, a tearful hitch in her voice that made him tense. “I feel like I’m going against all of my values and everything I believe in, and I know it’s stupid because it’s not like you’re the poster-boy for evil corporate oil–”

He refrained from pointing out that he _made_ the posters for evil corporate oil, not wanting to hurt the situation further.

“--but I feel guilty for not feeling guilty, if that makes sense. Like, Bonnie hates you--don’t look at me like that, you _knew_ that--and I hate having to defend you to her all the time, and I know that she’s being ridiculous and it’s not fair to you, and I hate it. I hate feeling like I have to choose, especially since I know that I don’t.”

“Then don’t choose. I genuinely do not understand why you’re so upset by this. I’m not going to apologize for what I do for a living, Caroline. You knew what I did when you agreed to this relationship, and if me changing jobs because you don’t agree with the values of the company that I work for is a dealbreaker, perhaps you shouldn’t have given me hope,” he said, unable to stop the words spilling out of him, his tone icy.

“That’s the problem, Klaus. It should be a dealbreaker. I’m furious right now.”

“Then why are you still here, Caroline?”

“You want me to leave?” she asked, looking genuinely hurt.

“Of course not,” he said, running a hand through his hair. “But if this is that much of a problem for you, I don’t want you to stay because you feel like you have to. I want you to be happy, Caroline, and this relationship won’t work if you resent me. If you hate what I do so much, and if you’re that upset by it, then you can walk out that door and not look back,” he said, knowing that losing his temper wasn’t helping anything, but unable to restrain the bite in his voice.

“That’s not what I’m saying,” she said, her voice also rising in volume. “Stop acting like I want to leave you.”

“You’re saying it’s a dealbreaker, Caroline. You’re basically shouting that you want to leave.”

“No, I don’t _want_ to leave, I just feel guilty for staying,” she said frustratedly.

“Then why are you here?”

“Because I love you,” she said firmly. “I love you, and I would rather stay and feel guilty than leave because I’m too stubborn to compromise.”

He was struck silent by her confession, but shook himself out of it, trying to even his breathing and closing his eyes for a moment. “Why couldn’t you just tell me you were upset, Caroline? You didn’t need to start a fight with me.”

“Are you serious right now?” she asked, her voice sharp.

He barely restrained himself from rolling his eyes. “I love you too, Caroline,” he said exasperatedly. “I understand that saying those words for the first time is a landmark in a relationship. I’m not ignoring that. I just want to make sure that if there’s a next time you’ll just tell me you’re upset instead of going through with the dramatics of trying to trap me in a corner with it.”

She sighed, her shoulder slumping. “I didn’t mean it like that, Klaus. You know that, right? I was just–”

“Upset and guilty, I know. As I’m sure you’ve figured out by now, I’m not exactly in a position to pretend that I don’t say things that I don’t mean while I’m angry.”

She scoffed, but there was a small smile playing on her lips.

“Look, I’ll try to be more transparent about the job search thing, all right? It was wrong to keep it from you, and I understand how that would feel like I was lying to you. I’m sorry about that, sweetheart.”

“I’m sorry too,” she said, hesitantly taking a step towards him, and he chuckled quietly, pulling her to him and wrapping his arms around her, letting her bury her face in his neck, her fingers tangled in his shirt.

“I know, love.”

“I really do love you,” she said softly, her voice muffled as she spoke into his skin.

He rubbed her back, planting a kiss on the top of her head. “I love you too, sweetheart. I’ll try to be more active with the job search.”

“You don’t have to,” she said. “You were right. I shouldn’t have a say in your career, and you shouldn’t live your life according to my moral compass if you don’t agree with it.”

“I never said–”

“You were thinking it,” she said, pulling back, her hands moving to rest on his shoulders. “It’s fine.”

He nodded slowly. “All right. Are you sure?”

“I’ll get over it.”

“And if you don’t–”

“If I don’t, I’ll tell you. I promise.”

“All right.”

They stood there for awhile, just enjoying the feel of each other, and he buried his nose in her hair, inhaling her scent. “I love you, Caroline,” he said, unable to get enough of the words falling from his tongue.

“I love you too, Klaus.”

 

**XXX**

 

“Happy Birthday, love,” Klaus said quietly, smiling as his girlfriend stirred in bed, her eyes opening slowly.

“Thank you,” she said, her voice scratchy from sleep. “What time is it?”

“Six o’clock,” he said. “I have an early meeting. Marcel wrote me an email last night after you went to bed. I just wanted to say goodbye so that you wouldn’t wake up with me gone and think I forgot.”

“I knew you wouldn’t,” she said, sitting up slowly and stretching.

“I also wanted to watch you open your present.”

“Mmkay. Can I go back to sleep afterwards?”

“You can do whatever you want. It’s your birthday.”

She laughed. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

He reached to the night table on his side and opened the drawer, pulling out a jewelry case and handing it to her. She shot him a suspicious look and opened it, and Klaus enjoyed the honestly surprised look when she saw what was inside.

She fingered the pendant attached to the delicate silver necklace, a small smile on her face. “You’re ridiculous.”

“Do you like it?” he asked, a bit anxious.

“Of course. I always love it when you indulge my obsession with elephants,” she teased. “No, but seriously, I love it.”

“I’m glad.”

“Have fun with your meeting,” she said, yawning.

“I doubt it’ll be much fun, but thank you.”

She hummed in acknowledgement, her eyes already closing as she settled back into her pillows. “Good night.”

“Good morning,” he corrected, making her crack an eye open to glare at him.

“Seriously?”

He smirked.

“Go to your meeting,” she said, waving her hand toward the bedroom door lazily and pulling the comforter up to her chin. “Love you.”

“I love you too, sweetheart.”


End file.
